[nfbmi-talk] Fw: Articles about blind clients

[joe harcz Comcast]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Burdgick, Julia (LARA)" <burdgickj at MICHIGAN.GOV>
To: <MCB2020-L at LISTSERV.MICHIGAN.GOV>
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2011 8:29 AM
Subject: FW: Articles about blind clients


-----Original Message-----
From: Luzenski, Sue (LARA) [mailto:LuzenskiS at michigan.gov]
Sent: Monday, December 19, 2011 4:55 PM
To: Michigan Comm for the Blind Vision 20/20 List
Subject: RE: Articles about blind clients

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Wow, Larry, thanks for sharing that article!!  Way to go Donna, both for 
accomplishing your dream and for dissecting a baby pig.  I know I couldn't 
do it.   Congratulations.

-----Original Message-----
From: Michigan Comm for the Blind Vision 20/20 List 
[mailto:MCB2020-L at LISTSERV.MICHIGAN.GOV] On Behalf Of Burdgick, Julia (LARA)
Sent: Monday, December 19, 2011 10:01 AM
To: MCB2020-L at LISTSERV.MICHIGAN.GOV
Subject: FW: Articles about blind clients

-----Original Message-----
From: Larry Posont [mailto:president.nfb.mi at gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, December 17, 2011 11:44 AM
To: MCB2020-L at LISTSERV.MICHIGAN.GOV
Subject: Articles about blind clients

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20812 Ann Arbor Trail
Dearborn Heights, MI 48127

December 17, 2011

Dear List Members:

Here is an example of an article written by Donna Posont. She is a client of 
the Commission for the Blind and displays a positive attitude about 
completing work in Science classes. Articles like this, that show the 
success of blind clients deserve to be displayed on the
20/20 List Serve. Here is the article:

In the past I would have worried about some one that got excited about 
dissecting and sorting through the inner workings of a baby pig. This week 
that thrill belonged to me. The culmination of animal dissection in biology 
was more than just a natural progression of learning.
Please let me explain why completing this Biology lab in December of
2011 is seriously a highlight of my life.
   In 1974 I entered West Liberty State College as a freshman eager to 
study. My declared major was biology and I intended to study for two years 
at the college and go on to West Virginia University majoring in Dairy 
Science. I knew it would require lots of work and determination, but I 
thought that I was up for the challenge.Little did I know that two weeks 
into the school year I would allow my dream to be squashed and my life sent 
in an entirely different direction.
   Upon entering the chemistry lab there was concern about my ability to 
learn the Periodic Table and corresponding material since I was blind. To 
make matters worse upon entering the biology lab there were all these 
microscopes and corresponding materials to be studied. The teachers did not 
know what to do with a blind student. I did not know how to tell them that I 
could learn. Along came the guidance counselor and I thought we could find a 
remedy to the situation. Instead what I experienced was a well meaning 
counselor who also had no idea what to do with me. In combination the 
academic team thought they were facing an impossible tast when it came to 
teaching a blind student the science kiriculum.  In short order I found 
myself changing my major to social work. Away I went down an entirely 
different path taking me on a journey that would result in completion of a 
biology lab thirty seven years later.
   Yes, my life did follow the road more traveled and easier for  all.
I regret not that I became a social worker and later worked in vending 
programs for the blind. I certainly do not regret raising my five children 
with all the joys and challenges that brought. I do not blame those academic 
authorities that could not figure out how a blind student could succeed in 
biology. I take responsibility for the path I chose. I did not have the 
confidence to think that I could be a successful biology student and I may 
not have hadenough skills of blindness to be a successful biology student. 
What could have happened differently in the life of a blind seventeen year 
old farm girl to enstill the confidence needed to take on the academic world 
of science?
   In 1978 while living in Philadelphia and working in social work, I 
encountered the National Federation of the Blind. It took me a while to join 
and I have never looked back. It has taken years of rubbing shoulders with 
other blind people to understand that dreams can come true. Little by little 
as I journeyed through the life of raising children, working and 
experiencing somewhere along the line confidence grew and pushed me to 
courageously step forth and say that I still wanted to learn that science 
stuff.
   Combining my love for nature, my love for working with blind children, 
and my still great curiosity in the life sciences, I once again turned onto 
a new path in the journey of my life. I enrolled in the University of 
Michigan Dearborn with an Environmental Studies major and a naturalist 
focus.
   I did have a struggle convincing faculty that I would be safe in the 
chemistry lab. There was a big difference this time around. I was determined 
to get into that class and follow my dreams. I was ecstatic when I completed 
that lab two years ago. This week I finished my first biology lab.  I had a 
wonderful teacher who did not question whether I could do the lab, but just 
questioned how together we would get the job done. My professor, Dr. Julia 
Kelly, went out of her way to find models of specimuns that others were 
looking at under the microscope.
She did not let me get out of anything and even better I did not want to 
miss any thing that I could learn. As I stated in the beginning, this week 
we dissected a baby pig. I was determined to get my hands in there and learn 
all that I could. However, my lab partners were reluctant to let me use the 
sharp cutting instruments. I protested and the professor told them that I 
could do some of the dissecting and I felt a thrill of victory.
   The victory was on two counts. First of all the professor believed in my 
abilities to participate fully in the class. Secondly and much more 
important was my belief in myself to push forward for equal involvement and 
participation. When I felt my courage wavoring I remembered the many blind 
people that have poured into my life and helped enstill the confidence that 
I needed to insist upon doing my part.
   I hope you have a glimpse of why completing this biology lab has been so 
important to me. Determination and confidence have led me down this path and 
I will never go back to the times of letting others reroute my dreams. This 
time I have taken the road less traveled and it has made all the difference.


Sincerely,
Larry Posont, Commission for the Blind Board Member  The primary goal of The 
Commission for the Blind is the gainful employment of Michigan's blind 
citizens. This is my primary goal as a Commissioner.

(313) 271-3058
Email: president.nfb.mi at gmail.com